How to Choose The Right Locks For Your Doors

Entry door lock.

Home security often begins with picking the right locks for your front door. However, at ALDA Windows and Doors, we can tell you that home security often goes beyond that specific point of entry. Any entry door that provides access to your home needs a secure lock.

There are additional options for home security, and many of these are enhancements to the basic lock and deadbolt system. However, at the end of the day, you are almost certainly going to still need a powerful lock and deadbolt system. With that thought in mind, let’s break down your options for locks for doors.

Understanding Your Lock Options

All of your options for locks can be boiled down to two choices. You have knobs/levers, and you have deadbolts. It stands to reason that your door has both. This can lead to the assumption that if you have the knob/lever taken care of, you don’t need to worry about the deadbolt.

This is usually not a good assumption to make. While securing the knob/lever is important, you should also really think of these things as secondary security measures. Your deadbolt is your primary security measure. It needs to be secured.

How to Find the Right Locks For Your Doors

Generally speaking, we don’t go shopping for locks and deadbolts very often in our lives. The circumstances that create the need are not things that should happen constantly in your life. We always need new locks during the construction of a new home. The other situation involves the aftermath of someone breaking into our home.

For either scenario, you aren’t going to want to have to go back to the store anytime soon. The most important thing to keep in mind then is to value function over style. We aren’t saying that style doesn’t have value. We just want to make sure you consider some more important factors first. Keeping our tips in mind, you will find
something that fits all of your needs. You can also likely count on something that will suit you just fine in terms of style. On every possible level, you want something that will last for years to come.

Tips to Pick the Perfect Locks for Your Doors

Here are some things to keep in mind, when it comes to choosing the very best lock for your doors:

  • Keeping function in mind: The top of your to-do list for perfect locks is going to start by thinking about the specific room you are locking. Privacy, passage, and then entry represent the three main categories of functionality. When you know your primary function, finding the right lock becomes a lot easier. It also helps you figure out not only the degree of security you require, but also what you want in the way of endurance. Hallway and/or interior doors generally do not require the same measures as what you would want with your front door.
  • The issue of endurance: It makes sense to want to get the strongest lock possible. It also makes sense to want something that maintains such strength for years and years to come. However, there are a few factors with the subject of endurance. Lock grading runs from Grade 1, down to Grade 3. The highest levels of security are going to come from Grade 1. Within each grade, you will have different functions and features that can be incorporated, in terms of entry to and from your home.
  • Thinking about aesthetics: At this point, we can now turn to the subject of aesthetics. Each grade is going to give you a ton of choices with styles and finishes. This is why we stress the need to consider the issues mentioned above. Chances are, you will find what you want in the way of style and finish, while also making sure you have the grade appropriate to your needs. Regardless of the décor of your home, you shouldn’t have any problems.

With all of the above in mind, you should be able to choose the right locks for your doors with ease. Remember that as grade options increase, which means styles/features increase as well, the cost usually goes up. If you are pretty committed to a very specific type of lock, you may find yourself with a decently pricey purchase.

However, this is a purchase you don’t make very often. You will probably need to rely on this lock for a large portion of your life. It just makes sense then to want the absolute best locks possible. Whether you want to optimize security with a Grade-1 deadbolt with a one-inch throw, or if you want something a little less comprehensive than that, ALDA Windows and Doors can help you find the perfect solution.